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High Country News

High Country News

A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.

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Maya L. Kapoor

Maya L. Kapoor is an award-winning freelance journalist who writes about climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice. Previously she was an associate editor at High Country News.

Posted inArticles

Will exploratory lithium mining continue near a sacred hot spring?

by Maya L. Kapoor October 2, 2024November 7, 2024

A judge will decide the fate of Ha’Kamwe’ as the Hualapai Nation fights the drilling in court.

Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

As glaciers melt, potential salmon habitat collides with outdated mining laws

by Maya L. Kapoor January 23, 2024February 1, 2024

In Alaska and British Columbia, climate change may open new rivers to fish – and to gold mines.

Camera traps set by researchers in Glacier National Park captured photos of passing lynx as part of a Washington State University study.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen

How do you count the elusive lynx?

by Maya L. Kapoor June 1, 2023August 23, 2024

Wildlife cameras may be key to understanding the threatened species’ response to climate change.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal

In a warming world, California’s trees keep dying

by Maya L. Kapoor January 30, 2023August 23, 2024

That could doom the state’s plan to fight climate change with the help of nature.

Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution

Mining for lithium, at a cost to Indigenous religions

by Maya L. Kapoor June 9, 2021October 1, 2024

In western Arizona, the push for EVs threatens the Hualapai Tribe’s religious practices.

Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands

Geographer Diana Liverman explains how to tackle the climate crisis fairly

by Maya L. Kapoor March 19, 2021January 24, 2024

The first step? Don’t panic.

Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead

Nevada lithium mine kicks off a new era of Western extraction

by Maya L. Kapoor February 18, 2021January 24, 2024

The hastily approved project went forward without comment from the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line

In Arizona, fighting a copper mine planned on sacred land

by Maya L. Kapoor January 22, 2021January 24, 2024

Oak Flat has been an important location to Indigenous peoples for millennia.

Posted inArticles

In Arizona, building a wall — and destroying a canyon

by Maya L. Kapoor and Ariana Brocious October 30, 2020January 24, 2024

In a mountain range too steep to cross, DHS is spending millions of dollars on five miles of border wall.

Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front

Former California prisoners may become professional wildfire fighters

by Maya L. Kapoor September 21, 2020January 24, 2024

Amid a raging fire season and pandemic, the Western U.S. seeks experienced fire crews to battle its conflagrations.

Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'

The only catfish native to the Western U.S. is running out of water

by Maya L. Kapoor July 1, 2020January 24, 2024

The Yaqui catfish was going extinct. Then came the border wall.

Posted inArticles

‘This is not what a food bank was designed to do’

by Maya L. Kapoor June 9, 2020January 24, 2024

California food banks are struggling with an overwhelming need and ongoing recession.

Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown

Hispanic-serving colleges and universities struggle to adapt to the pandemic

by Maya L. Kapoor April 15, 2020January 24, 2024

‘Government support is going to be vital.’

Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown

Pro tips on physical distancing from the nonhuman world

by Maya L. Kapoor April 13, 2020January 24, 2024

Get lit, howl and mind your paws.

Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes

The West is the stories we tell

by Maya L. Kapoor November 11, 2019January 24, 2024

To truly know a place, seek out its hidden histories.

Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline

When Arizona catches fire, prisoners step up

by Maya L. Kapoor August 5, 2019January 24, 2024

In one of the West’s harshest penal systems, incarcerated wildfire fighters learn to see themselves anew.

Posted inFebruary 4, 2019: Nizhoni Girls

Democrats are divided over the Green New Deal

by Maya L. Kapoor January 14, 2019January 24, 2024

Can newly elected progressives convince party leaders to embrace a bold climate agenda?

Posted inArticles

Wildfire recovery is possible — for some Westerners

by Maya L. Kapoor November 21, 2018January 24, 2024

Resilience depends on economics and history as much as fuel.

Posted inArticles

Utah files to support Trump’s diminished national monuments

by Maya L. Kapoor October 12, 2018January 24, 2024

Worried that the original monument designation may stand, Utah wants to jump into the fray.

Posted inArticles

The country’s cheapest water is in the West’s driest cities

by Maya L. Kapoor October 5, 2018January 24, 2024

By charging more for nonessential gallons, cities could keep water affordable for everyone.

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